It is widely known in the art that body core temperature can be acquired by auricular infrared thermometers which are adapted to be inserted into the patient's ear. However, various shortcomings are to be mentioned: even though a probe cover is provided, this method is often considered unhygienic, and the probe can be contaminated by dirt accumulated in the ear canal; further, it's not an easy method for a reluctant baby. Further, there may be some medical contra-indication, or the person may bear hearing aids.
More recently, it has been proposed to measure the temperature on the forehead area or on the temporal area, by sweeping a thermometer device across a certain distance, like taught by document U.S. Pat. No. 6,292,685 [Exergen]. The purpose of the sweeping (or scanning) process is to determine the peak temperature, which is supposed to correspond to the location of the temporal artery. However, it is difficult for the user to make a proper gesture, since the device has to be spaced a bit from the skin to allow cross movement. Therefore, the accuracy is not as good as expected. For some users, this method can be rather impractical, especially for self-measurements.
It is also to be noted that the known thermometer devices are rather bulky.
Therefore, there remains a need to bring new user-friendly solutions to perform fast and accurate body core temperature measurements. Additionally, there is also an interest to have a small device that can be stowed easily.